Look At What JayCee Found In His Pantry

Last week, I cooked an incredible crawfish etouffee', and as I reached for the Kirk's U-Needa-Butcher cajun seasoning, I knocked a little container of oregano off of the shelf. As I picked up the oregano, I noticed the "best by" date:

2010? Well, it's time to clean out the pantry!

I decided to clean the pantry today, and two hours, two boxes and one trash bag later, the pantry is clean! During the process, though, I came across a few bottles of champagne that I didn't remember were in there. I don't remember where they came from, but to satisfy my "Antiques Roadshow" curiosity, I decided to look up the vintage.

Taittinger's Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs, 1988, which turned out to be a "sparkling wine from Champagne, France".

I did a quick search on the intraneck, and a price of $325 came up! I looked closer at the label and then at the website, and realized that I had clicked on the wrong Taittinger, so I did a little more searching, expecting to have my excitement totally deflated. When I did find the right label online, the price, again, said $325! Whoo-hoo! I'm rich!!  Hahahaha!!

Here's what a Vivino search produced:

We've got 2 bottles of champagne in our pantry worth over $300 each??  WOOO-WHOOO!!!! I was so excited!  I texted Shannon right away.

Here, ladies and gentlemen, are where men and women think differently. Looking at a few different websites, bottles of this vintage (1988) were selling online from $280 - $350. My eyes lit up with dollar signs! Each bottle, if sold online, could pay for a plane ticket to see Shannon! (She lives/works in Pittsburgh) My heart was filling with anticipation, knowing that this money would help me buy a few plane tickets to see her.

And then, she replied to the text.

But, Shannon, THESE ARE $300 BOTTLES OF CHAMPAGNE! was my initial in-my-head response (I have learned, through the years, to have a few "in-my-head" responses, and then taking time to choose the most appropriate of those responses to actually send via text).

After I thought about it, maybe Shannon's right: I guess I just don't think "enough" of myself. If Shannon thinks that I am worthy of drinking $300 champagne with her, well, that's all that matters.

I texted Shannon back, saying that I'll have one of these in the refrigerator, chilling, by the time she makes it back to Louisiana. With chocolate covered strawberries. (The other bottle, though, might just buy me a plane ticket.)

(Vivino)